---
title: HB 549. Peace officers; extend time frame for which reimbursement of total training expenses by a subsequent employer may be sought
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb549
cite_as: HB 549, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb549
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb549.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb549/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70586
date: 2026-05-06
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1402
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb549.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 549
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-06
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Devan Seabaugh
- Lauren McDonald
- Derrick McCollum
- Eddie Lumsden
- Bill Hitchens
- Brian Prince
- Timothy Bearden
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB549/2025
upstream_id: 1978465
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- peace officer training
- law enforcement hiring
- police reimbursement rules
- Georgia law enforcement funding
---
# HB 549. Peace officers; extend time frame for which reimbursement of total training expenses by a subsequent employer may be sought
## Text
House Bill 549 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Seabaugh of the 34th, McDonald III of the 26th, McCollum of the 30th,
Lumsden of the 12th, Hitchens of the 161st, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 35-8-22 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
reimbursement of training expenses by subsequent employer of peace officer, collection
procedure, and required documentation, so as to extend the time frame for which
reimbursement of total training expenses by a subsequent employer of a peace officer may
be sought; to provide for types of training eligible for reimbursement; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 35-8-22 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to reimbursement
of training expenses by subsequent employer of peace officer, collection procedure, and
required documentation, is amended by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)(1) Unless otherwise provided by an employment contract to the contrary and subject
to paragraph (2) of this subsection, if the State of Georgia or any county or municipality
thereof employs a peace officer and said peace officer is hired by another agency within
15 36 months after completing mandated or formalized training requirements, then the
total expense of training, including salary paid during training, shall be reimbursed by the
hiring agency to the State of Georgia or any county or municipality thereof which initially
paid for such training. If said officer is hired by another agency during a period of 15 to
24 months after mandated or formalized training requirements are completed, then
one-half of the total expense of training, including salary paid during training, shall be
reimbursed by the hiring agency to the State of Georgia or any county or municipality
thereof which initially paid for such training. The council shall set standards for
reimbursement by hiring agencies based upon actual expenses incurred in mandated or
formalized training by individual departments.
(2) The total expense of training to be reimbursed pursuant to this subsection shall be
limited to:
(A) The actual cost of any equipment and materials required by the council approved
school that the peace officer attended;
(B) The salary paid during the time the peace officer attended the basic training course
as provided for in Code Section 35-8-9, as well as any housing, meal, and transportation
costs incurred during such attendance; and
(C) Up to 90 days of salary paid during the time the peace officer participated in a field
training program."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 549 changes how long a new police department has to reimburse a peace officer's prior training costs when it hires that officer away, extending the window from 15 months to 36 months and spelling out exactly what expenses count.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-8-22), if a peace officer is hired by a new law enforcement agency within 15 months of finishing required training, the new agency must reimburse the officer's original employer for the full cost of that training. If the officer is hired between 15 and 24 months after training, only half the cost is owed, and after 24 months nothing is owed.
House Bill 549 extends the full-reimbursement window from 15 months to 36 months and eliminates the old half-reimbursement middle tier entirely. It also defines for the first time exactly what counts as reimbursable training expense: the cost of equipment and materials from the training school, salary paid during the basic training course plus housing, meals, and transportation during that course, and up to 90 days of salary paid during a field training program. Salary paid during training generally is no longer automatically included unless it fits these categories. The change takes effect once the Governor signs it.
### What it does
- Extends the period during which a new employer owes full reimbursement for a peace officer's training from 15 months to 36 months after the officer finishes training.
- Removes the previous rule that only half the training cost was owed if the officer was hired 15 to 24 months after training.
- Defines reimbursable training expenses as equipment and materials costs, salary and housing/meal/transportation costs during the basic training course, and up to 90 days of salary during field training.
- Removes the council's former role in setting reimbursement standards based on actual expenses incurred by individual departments.
### Who it affects
Peace officers who move between Georgia law enforcement agencies, the state, counties, and municipalities that pay for officer training, and the police and sheriff's departments that hire officers away from other agencies and may now owe reimbursement for a longer period after hiring them.
### Why it matters
Agencies that hire an officer away from another department would face reimbursement obligations for three years instead of 15 months, potentially raising the cost of recruiting already-trained officers. Officers changing jobs sooner after training could see their new employer bear a larger, more clearly defined training bill.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 35-8-22, changing the reimbursement trigger window from 15 months to 36 months after training completion.
- Section 1 eliminates the former 15-to-24-month half-reimbursement tier and the automatic inclusion of salary paid during training in the reimbursement amount.
- New paragraph (2) limits reimbursable costs to equipment and materials from the approved training school, salary and living costs during the basic training course under O.C.G.A. § 35-8-9, and up to 90 days of field training salary.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-06)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-06)
- Sponsors: Devan Seabaugh, Lauren McDonald, Derrick McCollum, Eddie Lumsden, Bill Hitchens, Brian Prince, Timothy Bearden
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70586
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,402 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb549.md?full=1